Skin Deep
by Kimerlilly
Summary: After the car crash that leaves her best friend dead, Jill struggles to rebuild her life. But every stare in the street, every glance in the mirror, makes her want to hide away. And then Skye turns up- a tall, good-looking stranger unlike anyone Jill's ever met before. Can he help to put her world back together, or will he just break her heart?
1. Chapter 1

Skin Deep

**Sorry guys but I couldn't resist. I've got Sunshine islands, More Friends of Mineral Town and now DS Cute story all on at once! **

**This is actually inspired by my favourite book...So enjoy and review? Please?**

Prologue: Rewind

_The stereo thumps out a drumbeat. Claire yells and reaches into the front of the car to turn the volume up –it's her favourite song. The boys in the front laugh and Kai puts his feet up on the dash. I smile like I'm having a good time, squashed in the middle of the back seat with Claire dance-jigging around on my knee and Karen and Popuri on either side of me. I wish Rock would slow down because the pitch of the car round the country lanes makes my stomach lurch and I don't think he should be driving this fast._

_Popuri's giggling and rubbing Kai's head over the back of the seat. She likes him, I can tell. He rolls a joint and takes a drag then passes it to her. She inhales the smoke right down. I shiver inside. Mum and Dad would go crazy if they knew I was in a car with people taking drugs, and if they saw me in Claire's halter-neck top and short skirt. Popuri passes me the joint and I shake my head. She shrugs, her face scornful, and Claire grabs it and takes a few puffs before passing it on. The car careers around another corner like we're on a track ride at the funfair._

_I sort of wish I was at home, tucked up on the sofa watching TV. But when the bottle of cider goes round the car, I drink as much as the others so they don't laugh at me for being the youngest. For being a stupid little girl. My eyes feel funny and heavy with the mascara Claire brushed on them earlier. I don't know who this girl is. It's not theme who stacks the dishwasher every night and helps my little brother paint his figures at the kitchen table. _

_I drink more cider, but that doesn't give me more answers, just makes me feel a bit more like throwing up. _

_Claire leans forward and kisses Rock on the neck. Open-mouthed. Sucking hard. He'll have a bruise there tomorrow. _

_Kai laughs. "Get a room!"_

_And Rock waves to him to take the wheel while he cranes round to catch her mouth._

_The car swerves and my stomach clenches. _

_Karen's quiet probably miffed that Popuri's after Kai and there's no one for her._

_Claire whoops as Rock takes the wheel again and floors the accelerator. The car surges forward and hurtles faster and faster down the road. _

_We hit a straight stretch and Rock spins the wheel from side to side, hands in the air, steering with his knees. Us girls scream and laugh all at once. I force my giggles out. _

_Something swoops low in front of the car. Rock shouts out and the car veers towards the hedge. _

_An owl!_

_He grabs the wheel and we shriek with relief. My heart steadies again though I feel sicker than ever._

"_Fairy!" Kai jeers at him and Rock's face sets harder in the rear view mirror. His eyes glitter and he slams down on the accelerator. We're moving rally-car fast. The January frost coats the hedges in the headlights' beam as we flash past._

_We wheel around another bend into the dip down to Harton Brook. Another twist in the road, and another. _

_The needle on the speedo reads 70 mph and the girls and I are really screaming. Rocks' knuckles are white on the wheel and even Kai takes his feet down off the glove compartment._

_We shoot over the bridge into the bend straight after it. _

_The stereo bass batters my ears._

_And then...then the car feels different underneath me. The wheels...they glide and spin._

_Bumps in the road...I can't feel them anymore._

_We're floating._

_And I remember. Remember how Mum always nags Dad to slow down here. "It's a frost pocket. There's black ice here." She always says._

_Suddenly Kai starts to yell and Karen shrieks. And I know why the car feels funny. Why it's skating on the road. _

_Rock cries out, "Shit! Shit!"_

_The car spins off the road, crashes down the steep bank into the field below. _

_We're not gliding anymore and my bones shake like they're falling to pieces. _

_Thump...thump...thump...for the stereo._

_Screaming._

_So loud._

_I'm thrown upwards as the car turns over. _

_Then sent slamming down again._

_The car rolls once more and my head hits the roof. _

_Blackness. _

_Dark. _

_So dark. _

_But it's not safe like it is when i'm snug in my bed. In my own little room._

_This is choking dark._

_Through it, the screaming reaches me again._

_Deafening._

_It won't let me stay, pulls me back to the sound._

_I open my eyes._

_I'm pressed up against the roof of the car. It's upside down. Popuri's hanging over the back seat, her head half out the rear window. Blood drips along the shards of broken glass. Her legs pin me to the roof and I can't move. My arms are trapped under her. I shove, but she doesn't move. _

_There's a sharp, bitter smell in my nose. I recognise it, but I can't remember what to call it._

_Claire's not on my lap anymore. She's in the front between the seats. Her eyes stare up, wide and glassy. Lifeless._

_I wonder why it's so light, why I can see Claire and the panic rises in my throat._

_I know. _

_Coils of light-orange flames-lick towards me._

_An acrid stench of burning._

_The screaming is coming from me now._

_The flames touch me. I can't move away, can't get my arms free. They stroke my skin in a white-hot sear of agony._

_The pain...oh God...the pain._

_It goes on forever. _

_A voice yells, sobs, "Hang on I'll get you out." A hand grabs my leg and pulls me hard and fast, away from the flames. Out from under Popuri's body. _

_Kai yanks me out of the door. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I couldn't get it open in time." One arm hangs useless by his side. He puts the other arm around my waist and half drags, half carries me away. _

_I know I'm howling with the pain and I can't stop. Nothing's ever hurt like this before. _

_He collapses on to the grass with me. Rock's bent double beside us, rocking back and forth on his knees. Karen's there too whimpering and holding her head. _

_Kai looks at me. "Oh my God, oh..." and he starts to cry too._

_I let myself slide back into the dark again as the car explodes. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! How'd you like the prologue? Ahem. Yes. So a little more before Skye makes an appearance but he'll be here soon!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Eight months later.

**Chapter 1. Ugly people**

**-Jill**

Ugly people don't have feelings. They're not like everyone else. They don't notice if you stare at them in the street and turn your face away. And if they did notice, it wouldn't hurt them. They're not like real people.

Or that's what I used to think.

When I was younger

Before I learned.

When I was small, my mother used to take me shopping with her. Thursday is market day in Mineral Town and she bought her seeds and ingredients from the organic stall there. The stallholder had a purple-red birthmark running the length of his face and across his mouth. It made his bottom lip stick out, all swollen and wet like a lolling tongue. I wished Mum would buy our food from somewhere else because I had to try to forget his face whenever I looked at the food on my plate or the crops grown from his seeds.

He couldn't speak very well either. I assumed he wasn't all there in the head. Somehow not looking right made me think his brain was as wrong as his face. I could never stop staring, fascinated by how my stomach turned and how worms crawled along my spine when he sucked back on that flabby lip in a nervous tic. Mum told me off for it when she caught me.

Once i asked her if we could buy our stuff from another stall. Why did we always have to go to that one? And she explained what organic meant, about pesticides and fertilisers and protecting wildlife. But she finished with, "Besides, some people need our help more than others." I never asked again, but I thought it was stupid because ugly people don't have feelings.

I know better now.

That's why on a warm day late in summer, I wasn't there for the town photo. I was sitting by the pond instead. The Goddess Pond we called it because the Harvest Goddess was rumoured to live in it.

I checked my watch. The girls would be in the toilets now, doing their hair and makeup, squealing about how bad they looked. _As if._ Then they'd line up in the Inn. Best faces for the camera.

Oh they'd notice I wasn't there. But nobody would ask why. The mayor would be relieved because when he hung up the photo, one face would be missing.

Ugly people don't have feelings. We're not like everyone else.

**Hahahaha! Two chappies in one day? You're spoilt, really! Nah it's the Easter hols and I'm stalling till Dr who comes on. Skye next Chappie! What do you guys think? REVIEW PLEASEEEEEE**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter with everyone's favourite thief! Yay! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**Chapter 2- A new start**

**-Skye**

The water in this pond had a strange feel to it. It felt almost magical. I shook my head. These silly small town legends were messing with my head. From the time since I'd come through Mineral town, I reckoned I must be pretty close to the town of Forget-Me-Not- Valley. I followed the path along till I reached the town. No one would be awake at this sort of time.

I crept down the path looking for my goal. There was a yurt with a voice coming from inside it. I listened. The person was clattering around singing some tree-hugger shit to them self. I winced at the thought. Hippies were not my favourite people. And tofu... ugh. I swear they made that stuff to convert vegans to meat. Vaughn had agreed with me about that. Tasted like candle wax he'd said. But then if someone asked Vaughn what a vegan was he'd say, "It's someone who farts a lot." Death by beans he used to call Felicia's cooking. It's not really true. Vegans don't fart more than everyone else, but when Felicia managed to get him to try it, Vaughn's stomach had some trouble readjusting after a life of eating dead cow.

I crept on a bit further. Nothing good yet...just another pond. And God knows I'm useless at fishing. The smell of bean stew wafted from the yurt and I winced thinking of my last experience with bean stew. Not pretty.

Ahaha! A laboratory was sitting on the path just left and up of the yurt. I slunk up to the door and picked the lock no problem. I grabbed a few bottles and put them away in my pocket. Then, I exited locking the door behind me. Success!

I smiled. I had a plan for this town. Vaughn'd kill me if he knew. But he'd been gone a year. Was married to a rancher on Sunshine Islands named Chelsea. Nice girl, but way too happy. But she had her own house and they were now well on their way to their first child. She'd also had a passion for animals. And if I know Vaughn, which I do, he loves his animals.

I walked back up the path and noticed a ranch, right at the top of town. I wonder what the farmers like? Probably a stuck up bitch or a bright peppy male. Jeez I hate peppy people. Well, we'll see.

**So? Was it as terrible as I think? Review! I'll give you a cookie! Pleaseeeeeeeee**


	4. Chapter 4

Skin Deep

**Hey guys its me. Um firstly thanks for reviewing its lovely to open up a story to see someone has taken time to review it. Also I notice most of you liked Skye being mean. I guess he is a little but he won't be a bad person. I just find the prince of the stars stuff to be a bit false. Like an act. Anyway on we go with the story. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Chapter 3- A stranger?

Jill

There's something about staying up late on a weekend. Knowing you have a full day of looking after animals. Animals who love you unconditionally. Who don't judge.

I sat on the sofa and picked up a magazine. It had an article on how exfoliation made the skin glow and apparently people in French spas spent a fortune battering themselves with water jets. Well...I needed a shower...

I turned the shower up high enough for the water to sting my shoulders while I scrubbed all over with a loofah. But when it came to washing my face, I turned the spray down. Low pressure, cool water. I never forgot to do that. Couldn't.

I gave myself a scalp massage with the new hair conditioner, giving it time to soak in before rinsing it off. The bottle said it'd make my hair full and glossy. When I cleaned my teeth, I timed myself with a watch- two minutes like the dentist said. I had to do the flossing blind though; there was no mirror above the basin. I'd thrown a mirror at it when I got back from hospital and never replaced it.

I sat down at my dressing table to put on the moisturiser the dermatologist prescribed. I had to use sunscreen too but there was no point as it was the middle of the night. The moisturiser had to be applied in a certain way- tap the moisturiser in and then massage it thoroughly over the whole scarred area to keep the tissue soft and stop it contracting. The sunscreen was easier and only had to be smoothed over gently. My skin lived by this routine now.

I rough-dried my hair and gave it a quick smooth with the tongs, then threw on my clothes. Misty took one look at me putting on my old 'walkies' trainers and ran round in circles chasing her tail. I grabbed her lead in case we needed it and stuffed it in my pocket with an apple for my pony. She did her usual thing of hurtling round the garden and back to me again, over and over, as if she was on a bungee cord. I caught him up at the gate that led into the stable. I whistled to my horse and she headed over, led by her greedy little tummy. Her velvet nose snorted at my hand as she chomped the apple. Scrabble was a smallish horse but she got the work done.

I exited the stable and Misty ran along the hedge up the path towards the Harvest Goddesses pond. It was always quiet there at night. And the water was an eerie bluish black like Misty's coat. I followed her up towards the footpath. No one was around at this time of night, which made it my favourite time of the whole day. Misty disappeared into the undergrowth. She knew this walk as well as I did so I paid no attention and concentrated on picking a path through the nettles. The leaves on the trees above us were still pale green. They'd start to yellow soon, then fall. Misty and I would kick them up as we walked. She hadn't seen leaf fall before- this would be her first autumn. She'd love it. I lifted a branch aside and came out onto the footpath near the pond. Misty was already there peeing up a tree. I patted my leg and she fell in ad we strolled along the gravel path. But she stopped abruptly after a few metres, her whole body a line of quivering attention, and I looked up to see what she was watching, expecting to spot an owl or something.

Then I stopped too.

It wasn't an owl.

A boy was stood at the bank of the pond. He had silver hair that shone in the moonlight and very pale skin. I ducked back behind the trees, bending to grab Misty's collar. We were going to go the other way _now_, but the stupid dog jerked away from me. I patted my leg frantically, but he ignored me. He took a few steps towards the boy.

"Come back," I whispered. "Come _back_."

She fidgeted, dancing with her front paws on the spot, and then she made her mind up. She shot off towards the pond, yapping.

"No! Misty! Heel! Heel!"

But she'd gone, leaving me cowering in the trees.

**Dun dun dun! Another chapter! Have you figured out what injury she has yet? Oh and theres going to be quite a bit of Vaughn in this. Not sure if they should be related or not... what do you guys think?**

**Review please! **


	5. Chapter 5

Skin Deep

**Heya guys! Erm I'm super bored so 2 Chapters in one day for you lucky people! Skye this Chappie!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

4-First Impressions

Skye

I didn't know why I was here. This pond...it was messing with my head. It'd been a few days since my first robbery...heh, easy as pie.

There were lots of splattered flies on the window of the huge tree here. Looked like there were at least a week's build up of suicide bomber insects mashed on the glass. Maybe if they could talk it'd be different. Maybe they'd warn each other in hushed whispers about the danger of Light. Don't go there, one would say. My cousin went chasing the Light. Always a fool, he was. Always after a new thrill and one day he never came back.

Then again, maybe not. The ability to talk didn't seem to make humans less stupid.

A girl's voice called out somewhere down the path and I glanced up. Then a small black mutt came hurtling towards me out of the trees, barking like crazy. She slammed into my foot and then cannoned into me, almost taking me into the river.

"Ouch!"

Her paws scrabbled at my legs as she bounced up and down, yipping for attention. I crouched down and she leapt on to my knee. "Watch it, short stuff. Those are sharp claws." Her tongue slobbered over my face. "All right, calm down. Where've you come from?"

"Misty! Come back!" That voice again, sharper, panicking. I rolled my eyes. What did she think I'd do with her? Wring her neck and throw her in the pond? Psycho dog –murderer arrives in sleepy village- shock horror! I'd only been here two days. I'd expected longer before the locals made the connection that I wasn't a tourist. But that's villages for you. News travels fast and everybody knows each other's business. So much for this place being different.

The dog wanted to stay in my lap and get her ears stroked, but even if she hadn't, I'd have hung on to her collar just to piss the girl off, stuck up cow. Besides, she was a mad little pup and she might run into the pond. "Can't have that, Shortie. We'd never find you in there. You're the same colour as the water."

"Misty! Misty!"

"Dead obedient, aren't you?" I said to her as she paid no attention to the voice and tried to hook her stumpy front legs over my shoulders so she could was my hair too.

The girl appeared from behind the willow trees and stormed towards us. I looked at her clothes, mud stained, so she must be the farmer. I knew she'd be a stuck up cow. There was something odd about the way she walked though, - head down, and hair over her face, and shoulders tense. From what I could see, she had potential though- medium height, slim, sort of graceful even though she stomped along with her shoulders round her ears. Shiny hair the colour of melted chocolate.

"Hey, she's hot," I whispered to the dog. "Stay here."

She stopped about halfway, shouting "Misty!" again, not that it did any good. Her voice hitched on the name like she was close to crying and guilt pricked at me. Maybe she was a stupid peppy up herself bitch, but she was a girl in a deserted part of town with a stranger ... I didn't like the idea that I scared her.

"Nice dog," I called out.

She didn't come any closer.

"He just wants to play," I shouted, but she still stayed close to the tree line. I gave up and pushed the dog down. "Go on, go back" She paid as much attention to me as he did to her, jumping straight back on to my legs. I nearly picked her up and took her over to the girl, but I reckoned I was less threatening crouched down. She started towards us again.

"Misty, come _here_!"

"Who trained her?" I said grinning. "Cos you should ask for your money back."

"Misty! Now."

"I think you'll have to come and get her."

"I'm sorry she bothered you," she muttered when she got close enough for me to hear. I opened my mouth to say, "It's all right, no worries," but the words choked in my throat when I saw behind the curtain of hair.

_Jesus, her face..._

The right side was chewed up by a wide scar running across her check, down her jaw and neck and disappearing into the collar of her T-shirt. Fuck, that was a mess. Not an old scar- still purple-red angry. But not brand new either as it was all healed up. The skin there wasn't smooth like it should be, but rippled and puckered, especially on her neck.

What in hell had happened to her?

I didn't see the rest of her face at first. The scar was all I could see, my eyes drawn to it like a driver rubbernecking at a crash scene.

She bent down and snatched the dog from me. That broke my trance and I caught a flash of her eyes springing tears before she turned away with the dog under her arm and hurried off.

I scrambled up. "Hey, no harm done. She was only playing..."

She all but ran down the path away from me.

No wonder she didn't want to come over and get the dog. She must get that all the time- idiots staring at her with their gobs open, like Frankenstein's monster had just lumbered into view.

_You utter, utter dick! Why did you have to stare like that?_

Should I run after her and apologise? But what would I say...

"Hey, I'm sorry I stared at your face"...Hardly.

She disappeared into the trees.

I felt like shit. She only looked about nineteen and I'd made her cry. I should be ashamed of myself.

And I was.

I stood up. She'd gone and there was no way of making it right even if I had a clue where to start.

I couldn't get the puckered skin on the girl's face out of my head or the look in her eyes when she'd turned away. She'd have been pretty before that. Nothing incredible, just normal average pretty like a lot of girls are. Kind of cute in a quiet way. If I ran into her again, I wouldn't stare. After all, I used to hate it when kids stared at me and Mum.


	6. Chapter 6

Skin Deep

**Hey guys. It's fairly rainy and horrible today so I thought you might like an update. Do you love me? Also I noticed most of you found it refreshing that Skye wasn't calling everyone a maiden. I hate that he can't say anything else. It's so stereotypical. He will have the maiden lines in there but I have a plan for that. Also I have a reason for not making them meet at Luminas mansion. And any ideas on Vaughn and Skye's relationship? Should they be related? Thank you for reviewing. It makes me sooo happy! Maybe I'll do two chapters as a reward...Also...Who should Skye's parents be?**

Chapter 5- Recall

-Jill

I towed Misty down the lane away from the pond and we looped through the village so I didn't have to go anywhere near that place again. The stupid dog kept pausing to look anxiously at me and I tried to stop the tears rolling down my cheeks.

Even before the accident, that boy would be out of my league. I guessed he was a few years older than me and he was tall, around six foot. He had a slender figure but a whippy muscled thing going on that made me wonder if he worked out. The silver hair was so odd, yet so very...magical? He didn't have a touch of colour on his porcelain coloured skin, as if he never saw the sun. He wasn't boy band pretty, but no one could have thought him anything other than good looking. Especially in the moonlight.

If my feelings had gone away when I became ugly, life would be easier, but the wobble in my tummy when I saw a boy like that was still there. Even though he looked at me like i was a monster. The tears fell faster, blurring the road ahead. "It's all your fault, you useless dog! I told you to come back. I hate you!"

Misty pulled out of the clump of brambles she was nosing in and ran towards me, her tail wagging.

"Come on, you." We're going home." Forget the weekend stretching ahead of me. I wanted to go home and crawl under my duvet and hide. Forever. We passed Takakura who was tending to the shipping bin. "Want to lend a hand?" He yelled as he grabbed the wild grasses I'd put in earlier that day.

"No!"

He stopped and stared at me in surprise as I hurried into the house, leaving Misty behind with him. "Jill, what's up?"

I slammed the door and ran upstairs.

In the bottom of my wardrobe, right at the back and wrapped in a towel, I'd hidden a make-up mirror, the only mirror I still had. I knelt down and unwrapped it with shaking hands. A wave of nausea rose up when I looked in it. It was as bad as ever. Like a horror film. The ugliest thing I'd seen outside the movies. No wonder that boy had looked disgusted. I bet he'd wanted to throw up at the sight of me. I did.

Better to have been Claire. Better to be dead than look like this.

The thing that lived inside me since the accident woke again. The thing that chewed me with grinding teeth. I wanted to hurl the mirror across the room. Scream. Break everything in sight. Rip the curtains down. Smash the window. Let the animal thing out.

But good girls don't do that, don't make a fuss. And I was a good girl so I curled up on the floor and sobbed silently instead.

When they took the bandages off in hospital for the first time, my dad had looked at me and cried. In nineteen years I'd never seen my dad cry, but there he sat and wept as if something inside him had broken. Mum tried to make him stop, but he couldn't so a nurse came and led him away gently. They weren't sure they should give me the mirror after that. Mum and Dad were supposed to support me, but that wasn't going quite to plan. I had to look in the end though. It couldn't be put off forever. I told them that.

"Now remember, you've still got a lot of healing left to do. This graft needs to take and it'll be a while before the colour fades. The mask will reduce the scarring as long as you wear it properly. In a year's time it'll look very different," the nurse said.

Mum's hand's trembled as the nurse raised the mirror to my face.

I looked in it and any shred of hope I had was butchered. They gave me a jab to calm me down and the councillor came later. Her face swam woozily in front of me. "Jill, I have to check that you understand what the doctors have told you about your burns."

_Yes, I'm not stupid. Third degree. Full thickness burns. They've been through all this with me when they harvested my skin for the grafts, and then again afterwards._

_It means the burns are skin deep._

_And beauty's skin deep._

I went for a walk to clear my head. The clear night was cold and sharp. As I walked I read my book, glancing carefully every now and then so i didn't trip. I didn't know where i was headed I just walked. Head down, hair covering face.

I looked up and realised I'd reached the mansion on the far side of the village.

Then I heard a voice just next to me. "Hey! Aren't you that famous thief who warns his victims ahead of time?!" I looked up sharply. Thief? Then I saw the boy from the pond standing near me. _Oh no! _I wondered if I could slip away out of sight or if moving would make him notice me. Then I heard him say "Hehe. Sorry, but I'm a bit pressed for time. I'm about to jet out." Lumina shouted "Wait right there!" He muttered something under his breath and the said in a smooth confident tone "Hehe. Hold up beautiful. Don't let such raw anger steal away your beauty" Lumina went bright red and breathed " What a smooth talker..." Then she walked off still blushing madly.

I decided now would be a good time to move. Big mistake. I got up as stealthily as I could and ducked behind the fountain. And then..."Oh!" He walked into me as he came round the fountain and knocked the book from my hands. "Hehe, sorry beautiful maiden. " _ What? Had he been drinking? _ "Didn't see you there. Are you..." He tailed off and I waited for the shudder.

He grinned at me.

_What? _

"Hi again!" He picked my book up and handed it back to me. "I'm glad I've bumped into you...well, Fallen over you! I wanted to say this morning, only you ran off...that...your dog...it's fine. Deadly friendly, isn't he? I like dogs. Sorry if I came over as rude."

I was too shocked to move away or speak. And...and he was looking me full in the face...

He had beautiful eyes- a sort of bluish green than somehow matched his hair.

He went on "You surprised me, that's all. The scar" – he touched his face- "took me by surprise. I didn't mean to be rude, honest. "

I gaped at him. Nobody ever, _ever_ mentioned the scars. Their eyes slid away or they turned aside or they pretended they couldn't see them at all. But nobody ever acknowledged them directly. Even my own family avoided talking about them, apart from those humiliating and painful times when Mum had felt it was necessary for a serious chat about my progress. But in the way that he'd just done? So blunt? So matter-of-fact? No, nobody did that.

He scratched at his neck. His grin was sort of lopsided this time. "What I mean is, sorry if I screwed up."

_Screwed up? Oh yeah, you did that. _For a few minutes in eight horrible months, I'd forgotten my face and enjoyed something as basic as taking the dog out. And then he'd made me feel like an ugly freak. Which I was, but I didn't want to be reminded of it...

I blinked hard and opened my book, hoping he'd go away now. "Good book? You read any of his before?" I shrugged, unable to get words out, not knowing what to say if I could. This was the first boy to talk to me since the accident. I avoided them at school and I'd have been shy of this one even before the accident. Close up, he was even cuter- the kind of boy girls would be drawn to like a magnet. My skin felt scratchy with nerves at having him so close, and having his eyes on my face.

"I've read a couple. Not bad. He does go on a bit though." The boy chuckled. "So do you come here often?"

Oh, I got it. That's why he was talking to me. I was a joke. One big bloody joke. Talk to the freak and laugh about it behind her back later.

I scrambled up. "Fuck off!"

"Hey, what's wrong? I was-"

"_Fuck off!"_

The shameful tears came again as he stared. And I ran. From the corner of my eye I could see the boy watching me, but he melted away as I left the mansion and people came to investigate the noise.

I couldn't help sobbing as I ran. I wished I wasn't alive. The reality struck me as I realised again that there was no way out of this. I couldn't go running to my parents and have them make it all better like when I cut my knee or got stuck on my maths homework. This was never, ever going to go away. Like the man on the market stall, I'd be stared at. I'd be _wrong_ all my life. No going back. No making me right.

I burst Into my house and collapsed sobbing.


	7. Chapter 7

Skin Deep

**Hey Guys! It's me :) . I've decided to continue the story cause I love you all so much 3 And I have decided who Skye's Mum will be! YAY! :3 SO CHAPTER 7 IS HERE! :) :) **_**Sorry it took so long to post! **_

Chapter 7-The Past

Skye

I snuck away from the fountain after the girl left. Outstanding success there. Major league. I'd made her cry again. Only this time i didn't have a clue why. She was crazy. I hadn't done anything. If I saw her again, I was going nowhere near her.

I stood in the town square and pulled the sketch map out of my pocket. How did I get to the pond from here? I looked up to get my bearings. I found the path I needed and set off. I could feel eyes following me. Probably another set of small town lads who thought they were hard men.

It's all in the body language, Vaughn'd said, in the way you stand, the way you walk. Get it right and they won't touch you. I never got it right before I met Vaughn, but he sorted me out all right. He'd ridden into our lives four years ago, on a jet black stallion. We'd been living in a skanky little place and Mum and I had gone to Co-op to get some supplies in. The shop assistant followed us around from the minute we entered the shop. Not surprising, I already had a reputation. My face heated up as Mum strolled around filling her basket with lentils, carrots and peppers and the woman behind us watched, scowling.

"Mum, Hurry up please."

"Quiet Skye. Don't rush me."

"Can I wait outside?"

"Oh, go on then. But don't wander off."

I went outside and sat on a bench. Some boys my own age, around twelve, kicked a football round the empty car park. It looked like a laugh, but I didn't go over to join them. No point.

Quarter of an hour later and Mum still hadn't come out of the shop. The boys noticed me and looked over, moving together into a pack, muttering. It set the hairs on the back of my neck on end. I knew this script, but Mum had said don't wander off.

They came over, swaggering more the closer they got.

"You a gyppo?" one called. He was shorter than me, but stockier.

I shook my head.

"You like one. Don't he look like one, Rhys?" He turned to the boy nearest.

I balled sweaty hands into fists. I didn't look like them, for sure, in the tie-dyed crap Mum made me wear back then.

"Can't you speak?" the third asked, stepping closer.

"Yes."

"Ha! He's English. An English gyppo."

"I'm not a gyppo."

The five surrounded me. The one called Rhys slapped me on the head. I scrambled up, meaning to make a dive over the back of the bench and run into the shop, but the stocky one grabbed me and kicked me in the knees.

_Crunk!_

I hit the pavement hard and brought my arms up to protect my face. The first kick wasn't as hard as I'd expected- a taster. Maybe they hadn't done this before. But it landed in my stomach and winded me all the same.

"Go on, Huw! Boot him!"

The second kick slammed into my arms as the boy aimed at my face. I heard them laughing.

"Gyppo!"

"English bastard!"

"Kick his head in!"

Feet hit into me from every angle, in my back, my legs, my arms still curled around my head, my chest, and stomach. I never got a chance to hit back.

_Please don't let Mum come out and see this. Please._

_But please make it stop..._

The feet kept kicking. Above the sound of their laughter I heard the _clip-clop_ of horse hooves. Coming closer

The kicks to my front stopped suddenly.

"Brave little shits, aren't you? Five on one"

The kicks behind me stopped as well.

"Get out of here. Unless you want to take me on too."

Feet slammed on tarmac, running away. Big hands hauled me up.

"You all right, kiddo? Let me see."

He pulled my arms away from my face.

A man in a cowboy hat, leather trousers and coat, with silver hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a bandanna round his neck. The stallion whinnied next to us.

"Getting a bit of hassle?" He grinned at me and wiped blood away from my nose with his hand. It was leather clad in a thick glove and hot from the sun.

I nodded.

"No harm done?"

"No, I'll be OK. I sat up properly. "Thanks"

"No worries." He held out his hand for me to shack. "Vaughn."

"Skye!" Mum shrieked as she dropped her bags and ran towards us. "What happened?"

Vaughn stood up. "He had some trouble with the local kids, but he's fine."

Mum stopped in her tracks.

He looked at her. She looked at him. And that was that.

A week later we moved to Sunshine Islands.

I knew what this flashback meant. It meant I had to visit Mum.

**DUN DUN DUNNNN! WELL THAT was Chapter 7! Whaddaya think? Any ideas who Skye's Mum is yet? Review as always please and sorry the update took so long! Comment any ideas you have as they are greatly appreciated. As always I own nothing!**


	8. Chapter 8

Skin Deep

**Sorry for the long time taken to update guys! I've had GCSE's and stuff. But im sure you don't want excuses so let the story continue! I OWN NOTHING!**

-Chapter 8 -Friends

-Jill

On Monday morning I crawled out of bed at 6:00. I HATED getting up so early in the morning, but farm work doesn't do itself.

I got a cup of coffee and bulled on a t-shirt and jeans. I remembered I had made plans to meet Celia. _Great..._ don't get me wrong I love Celia and all but we were going into town and that meant catching the bus. I used to talk to Claire on the bus. Now I didn't have Claire I read on the bus. I'd been catching it for weeks and I was still a novelty. Shrek Goes to Town. But would they ever get used to me? In Forget-Me-Not it was safe because everyone knew me. But in town it was different. Forget-Me-Not valley. Ironic really. All I wanted was for people to forget.

I walked out of the barn after looking after my cow and sheep, Cotton and Daisy. Original I know. I walked down the heavily overgrown path, head down in thought. Facing the villagers had been hard enough. I'd walked into Celia's sleepover and the girls rushed over to say, "Hi! We missed you..." before their voices tailed off. Their eyes widened in shock, even though they all knew what had happened to me. But knowing isn't the same as seeing it. I saw the thoughts flash through their heads: if that happened to me...Oh Goddess, I'd die... it's...it's... they tried to pretend they weren't horrified but they couldn't hide it. I didn't know what to say to them. I wanted to run out of there, to my house and phone Mum and sit and cry till she came and took me away.

But I couldn't. I couldn't run away forever, that would just make the stare more. Exhibit one, Fugly Crybaby Scarface. Instead Celia kicked the other girls out and marched me into her room.

It always went quiet when I passed – a Mexican wave of silence spread along as people saw me coming.

_Stop looking at me! Leave me alone! _I screamed it so loudly in my head I was scared for a second I'd yelled it for real.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Celia opened the door. She squealed as she saw it was me and I sensed she had news. Big news.

"Jill, hi!"

"Hi, good weekend?" I sat down on a chair next to her.

"Yeah, the crop festival was brilliant! The best I've ever been to."

Vesta was a member of a crop society who visited other islands and judged their crops. This meant Celia wasn't exactly the coolest girl in the village. Claire used to be really catty about her, but we'd been friends since I first moved and I liked her no matter what anyone said.

"There were these amazing eggplants, they were the most gorgeous purple and there were some old weapons the town's historian showed us."

She was not this excited about some plants. There was more. "And?"

She giggled. " I met this boy..."

"Yeah?"

"Mmm, and he's a really nice guy."

Well, good for her. I'd met the biggest jerk on the planet myself.

"His name's Bo and he's asked me to go to the society's harvest dance at the end of the month. I told you about it, remember?"

She still had more to spill, I could tell. "Yes, I remember. And?"

Celia went red. "Oh...he kissed me."

"No way! You jammy cow. Is he fit?"

"I think he is," She said guardedly. That meant no, I decided. That meant Muffy Green and her friends- the bitch queens of the village- wouldn't think he was. They'd raise perfectly plucked eyebrows at him and laugh when Celia was out of sight.

"What does he look like?" After all she could lie if she wanted. I'd probably never see him.

"About Marlin's height" She said. "Blonde hair. He's got a lovely personality. "

This meant he must be hideous. Not that Celia and I were in any position to criticise; neither of us was likely to trouble the modelling world any time soon.

"Is he local?"

"No, He lives on Castanet Island"

"Castanet?"

"Um, Yes apparently his friend is the mayors son."

"Did he kiss you properly?"

"Uh not at first. He snuck it in when we did a re-enactment of the history. But I didn't object so..."

"And how was it?"

She grinned "Awesome!"

I prodded her. "Bitch! I told you you'd get there before me."

"Jill, maybe you should come to the next one. I know it's not your think but..." she hesitated. "It's something to do. Go out, go somewhere new, you know."

"Yes I'd go down a storm." I pointed to my cheek. "Authentically blown up with a musket ball."

Celia flinched. "Don't say that. I dint mean that and you know it.

" I know. Sorry." I apologised.

**Taadaa! Another one done! R&R please! It encourages me! Also chapter 7 is now an actual chapter and i'm considering a co writer! All ideas appreciated! PM Me if interested! **


End file.
